ATLANTA — Judge Scott McAfee in Fulton County has dismissed three of the charges former President Donald Trump had been facing in the 2020 Georgia election RICO case.
The majority of the charges Trump faces in Georgia remain from the original indictment -- 10 of them in all.
Judge McAfee also dismissed three other counts of the indictment that Trump was not implicated in.
The dismissal of the six counts came after Trump and five other defendants filed what's known as a "special demurrer"-- a legal filing that "challenges the form of the indictment by claiming that the defendant is entitled to additional information or specificity," wrote Judge McAfee in his Wednesday morning order.
In other words: defendants argued that prosecutors vaguely drafted the six counts in question, failing to clearly articulate how they allege the defendants broke the law.
Without that specific information, the defendants argued they couldn't fully prepare their defense.
Judge McAfee agreed.
"As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission," wrote McAfee.
Raising the question -- what actually had been alleged?
What were the 3 charges dismissed against Trump in Georgia about?
You can also refer back to the original indictment, but they were:
- Count 5: Alleging Trump "unlawfully solicited, requested and importuned Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives David Ralston, a public officer, to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of Violationof Oath by Public Officer, 0.C.G.A. § 16-10-1, by calling for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly for the purpose of unlawfully appointing presidential electors from the State of Georgia, in willful and intentional violation of the terms of the oath of said person as prescribed by law, with intent that said person engage in said conduct, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof."
- Count 28: Alleging Trump "unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a public officer, to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, 0.C.G.A. § 16- 10-1, by unlawfully altering, unlawfully adjusting, and otherwise unlawfully influencing the certified returns for presidential electors for the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia, in willful and intentional violation of the terms of the oath of said person as prescribed by law, with intent that said person engage in said conduct, contrary to the laws of said State, the order, peace and dignity thereof."
- Count 38: Alleging Trump "unlawfully solicited, requested, and importuned Georgia Secretary of State. Brad Raffenspenger, a public officer, to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, 0.C.G.A. § 16-10-1, by unlawfully 'decertifying the Election, or whatever the correct legal remedy is, and announce the true winner,' in willful and intentional violation of the terms of the oath of said person as prescribed by law; with intent that said person engage in said conduct, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof."
In a bit plainer terms, Count 5 relates to Trump's attempts to convince the late Georgia House Speaker David Ralston of the need for a special session of the state legislature, the Georgia General Assembly, which essentially would have been for the purposes of changing Georgia law to let handpicked electors cast Electoral College votes for Trump.
Counts 28 and 38 relate to the phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, on Jan. 2, 2021.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said on that call.
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